Chapter Text
The next day, Donald, Della and Scrooge were up bright and early. After they ate breakfast (as an apology to Scrooge for bailing on him the other day), they all headed towards the town square to plan out everything.
Scrooge pulled out the map from his coat pocket and stretched it out to show his niece and nephew. "Now, according to the map, the forest should be that way."
Donald rubbed his eyes blearily while Della nodded, showing enough enthusiasm for both of them.
Scrooge strode ahead. "Let's get a move on, time's a'wasting, especially if we want to find the beast before sundown. If you lot follow my lead, we should be fine."
Della glanced at the map. "I wonder how much gold this crocodile is. Heck, how did it even get gold in the first place?"
"Ah, that's an excellent question," Scrooge adjusted his spectacles. "Legend says that the crocodile was once not an animal, but an offering. She resides in the darkest caves, only revealing herself to those who are worthy."
"Woah! So it's like a crocodile goddess!" She exclaimed. Then she stopped upon hearing something behind her.
"Della?"
Della paused, still half asleep, but clearly recognized the sound of someone calling her name. She turned around and smiled widely at the familiar duck.
"Erm, who's this then?" Scrooge raised an eyebrow.
"Gus!" Della exclaimed, already jogging over.
Gus' eyes went wide, and then bowed his head. "Crikey! Mr. Scrooge McDuck, it is such a pleasure to meet you!"
"I'm here too," Donald grumbled.
"Aye, so you must be Gus Featherweight," Scrooge said kindly, although not without a hint of suspicion in his tone.
The younger duck lit up, seeming to be holding back a squeal. "He knows my name!"
"I may have mentioned you," Della quipped. "Small town, eh?"
"I was just heading to- well nevermind that," Gus said, a bit sheepish.
"We would love to stay and chat, but we've got important business to attend to," Scrooge said, indicating towards the forest a good distance away, but still clearly visible. "Adventuring business."
Gus looked confused, then his eyes went wide in realization. "Adventuring in the forest?"
"Indeed. There's more than meets the eye, lad, and we're going to find out everything there is to know about the-" He paused. "Well, the forest."
Della nudged Scrooge lightly. "Gus said he grew up here, he might know some information. It's not like you keep most of your escapades a secret."
Gus shrugged. "The only thing worth adventuring in there is the legendary golden crocodile-"
Scrooge gasped slightly. "Bless me bagpipes! You've heard of it then?"
"Sure have. Bet all of Australia has."
"Aha, well, seeing as you know the circumstances of this mission, we best be off," He said, starting to walk ahead before stopping when, unexpectedly, Gus began to laugh. "Oi, what's so funny?"
"Why are you laughing at us?" Donald demanded, eye twitching.
That only made him laugh harder, which aggravated the trio even more.
"Ugh, bet he's one of those non believers," Della scoffed. "Probably thinks it's a myth. Come on guys, let's go."
"Wait!" Gus stopped suddenly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you folks. Especially not great adventurers like you. The truth is, I do believe in the golden crocodile, that's not why I was laughing."
"Then why-"
"--I was laughing, because I know you lot couldn't handle it."
Della and Donald's jaws had dropped, both gobsmacked by that incorrect, potentially dangerous statement as they turned to their uncle- who looked equally as astonished.
"Pardon me?" Scrooge blinked, bill curling up. "Do you even know who you're talking to?"
"Of course I do. You're Scrooge McDuck."
"Scrooge has been adventuring longer than you've been alive!" Della fumed.
"Yeah, who even are you, Gus?" Donald crossed his arms. "Just some guy who thinks he knows everything!"
"Actually," Gus smirked smugly. "I happen to be the most well known crocodile hunter in all of Australia: Augustus Featherweight."
He stood there, growing frustrated as the trio merely blinked back at him. "Don't tell me you've never heard of me!"
"Er, so are you like an Australian celebrity or...?" Donald scratched his head, perplexed.
"Pffft, yeah right," Della rolled her eyes. "You told me you work at an animal sanctuary."
"I didn't tell you everything, Della," Gus replied simply. "I ran this sanctuary and zoo with my family, however I started a television program handling all sorts of dangerous creatures to keep in captivity. They don't call me the crocodile hunter for nothing."
"Uh yeah, who exactly calls you that?"
Gus reached for his Waddle™ flip phone and typed something in. He then turned the phone around to show the trio. There was a slightly grainy video playing from one of the local television channels. It was clearly a recent program, since Della and Donald did not recognize it.
There was a roaring crocodile that chomped at the screen. It dashed forward, before being lassoed by a duck in khaki. He grinned and waved at the camera.
"Welcome back to Crocodile Hunters with Augustus Featherweight!" He said proudly. "I'll be taking a good look at my very own Marshmallow, the marsh croc! Crikey, isn't she a beauty?"
The crocodile snapped her jaws, but let him pat her head.
"Are we supposed to be impressed by that meddling media?" Scrooge glared.
"So you've got a barely recognizable television show. Big deal," Donald shrugged. "I'm sure no one has ever heard of it."
"Oh really?" Gus pointed behind them. All around the town were posters of the Crocodile Hunter series, with release dates for new seasons and ratings.
"Okay, seriously, how did we not notice that?" Della demanded. "It doesn't matter. You can't just make claims like that without any real evidence besides some phooey television show. You said it yourself, Uncle Scrooge is the most daring adventurer of time in real life- not on TV! And together, we're gonna see that golden crocodile!"
Gus shoved one hand into his pocket. "I'd like to see you try."
"That's IT!" She lunged forward, ready to smack some sense into this stubborn duck- until both her uncle and brother pulled her back. "Lemme at 'em'!"
"Della, lass, he isn't worth it," Scrooge mumbled, although he looked equally as irritated.
"You're right, I'm not worth it. But continue letting the old galah tell you what to do."
Scrooge's eye twitched, now facing Gus beak to beak. "Oh it is on, ya boastful bird! If you think you can showboat around yeh town like this, then let's settle it. Whoever finds the golden crocodile first and snatches one of its scales, wins."
"And gets bragging rights," Donald agreed.
Gus paused for a moment, then grinned. "You're on. I could do this even when I'm outnumbered. We'll meet by the edge of the forest, that's where the race will begin. It makes sense to be a race, doesn't it?"
The two ducks spat into their hands to seal the deal.
Della had a sinking pit in her stomach as she, Donald and Scrooge headed towards the marking point. As if something was nagging at her to turn back now, and not settle for this petty, stubborn squabbles. At the same time though, she couldn't let Gus get away with insulting her uncle, and doing this would save his name. Not that Scrooge McDuck needed it.
Or rather, he did in this case.
She gulped slightly, figuring Gus might have told a few of his friends (and fans??) about the race. A huge crowd of people had formed, all shouting his name like he was a celebrity. Nobody was cheering for the Duck family of course.
"Ignore them," Scrooge whispered to his niece. "They may be supporting that crass cretin, but we've got the McDuck bravery, strength and wit. Featherweight only has his big mouth from what I've gathered."
"And several fans..." Donald said bitterly.
"Who cares? Just ignore them, like Uncle Scrooge said. Gus, we're ready to start the race!" Della made direct eye contact with her new rival, glaring daggers. "Are you?"
"Sure am. Let's get this started."
Tail feathers in the air, the four ducks stared at each other one more time before preparing for the race to begin. In an instant, they heard the shrill call of a whistle, and immediately started to run forward into the deep forest. For Scrooge and Della it was easy to navigate- but unfortunately for Donald's unlucky streak, he ended up slamming into trees and tripping over brambles, slowing the group down.
To Della, Scrooge shouted over his head: "Don't let him slow ya down, lass! Keep movin'!"
She didn't want to play the pronoun game and stop to wonder whether Scrooge was referring to Gus or Donald, but regardless they were slowed down to a sudden halt as to a fork in the road.
"This way," Scrooge insisted, pointing to the left, more narrow path. "It leads to the swamps, where the crocodile resides."
"Ha! I figured you would say that, old man," Gus jeered from behind. "The golden crocodile is to the right. I've been here many times, and that's where she's always been."
"Ack," Scrooge ignored him and started moving towards the right, Donald close behind. "Della, follow us. That duck doesn't know what he's doing."
"I..." She hesitated, watching Gus head in the other direction. "I want to keep an eye on this bozo. Something about him isn't right."
She turned to the right, running as fast as her legs could take her, ignoring the burning sensation. She had to catch up to him, even if it killed her.
'Okay...maybe that's taking it too far.'
She leapt across a particularly slippery ravine, barely able to catch her balance. She was so close, she couldn't bear the possibility of falling now. After her dramatic jump, she was now at the edge of the forest, each tree disappearing from view. And yet, Gus was still way ahead of her.
She panted, snatching her canteen from her bag. She held herself back from drinking the entire thing, wishing she had packed another. Dehydration only made her more exhausted, and her hoarse throat was begging for more. Nevertheless she persisted, catching a glimpse of a tall cliff and an extremely large gap. Holding it together with the next bit of land, was a shaky rope bridge. A rope bridge that Gus was already stepping across.
"Hey!" She hollered weakly.
Gus turned around briefly to stop. "Oh Della, nice of you to finally show up. Now if you excuse me, I've got a golden crocodile to find." He took another step backwards with a cocky grin. "Are ya scared of heights? All you gotta do is don't look down."
"No, stop!"
"If you think I'm gonna wait for you, you're dead wrong."
"No, listen, you dummy!" Della growled, motioning towards the bridge. "Those steps aren't strong enough to hold your weight. You're gonna fall!"
"Ha! As if I'd actually believe that," Gus scoffed. The second he said this, however, the step crumbled beneath him, and he fell directly through. Holding on for dear life by a skinny piece of rope, he helplessly glared down at the river below. "Wh- help!"
Della groaned. "Seriously?" Then, it hit her. She couldn't leave him alone, after all. "Junior Woodchuck Rule 28: If you can't find rope, use a vine. Aha!" She snatched a long snake-like vine by her feet, twirled it around like a lasso for effect, and tied it around a nearby tree. She jumped off the cliff, yelling out some made up battle cry Donald invented.
Gus automatically squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the worst. His grip was loosening, he had no control over what happened next. He was falling, falling, falling ...until he wasn't.
A gust of wind pressed against him, and Della swooped downwards, grabbing Gus in the nick of time, just as he was about to plummet.
"Hold on!" She ordered over Gus' cries for help. "Alley-oop!" And landed safely across to the next cliff, Gus flopping beside her. "Della Duck sticks the landing and the crowd goes wild!"
It all happened so quickly that Gus was still lying down, hugging the ground desperately, shivering in fear.
"Hey, Gus, you okay? You're not gonna hurl, are you?"
"You..." He trembled a bit as he stood up, eyes wide and confused. "You saved me."
She shrugged. "Sure did. To be honest, that wasn't the scariest experience I’ve ever had. Maybe in the top ten. Turns out, I'm not a big fan of heights."
"After all I said..." Gus swallowed, meeting her gaze. "Why? You could have easily left me to die." He nervously looked back at the cliff edge. It seemed so much higher up than it did before.
"Because even though you've been a major jerk this whole time, you don't deserve that," Della declared. "As a graduated Junior and Senior Woodchuck, I know the most valuable rule."
"Never leave a fellow Woodchuck behind?" Gus replied, crouching down to examine the vine she used. "Excellent knot I must say."
Her cheeks suddenly became pinker. "Wait. You were a Woodchuck too?"
"I was in the Australian branch," He smiled softly. He blinked thrice, then falling back on his knees. "Thank you for saving me. I don't know what I would have done."
"Fallen into a river and drowned or die from the impact of falling maybe?" Della returned the smile. "Listen, I really don't want to fight a fellow Woodchuck over this crocodile. And seeing as I saved your life, I think you owe me a favor."
"An' what would that be?"
"Stop acting like a pompous, pretentious little dork and let's work together! We're both looking for that crocodile, and I sure as heck don't wanna keep fighting over this."
Gus hesitated.
"Please?" She held out her hand, gradually letting him take it.
"Let's do it."
With that second handshake, Della felt less wary than before.